nova

"At the end of the day, if I've helped just one person, it's been worth it."

— Lucy Knight, ER (1994 - 2009)

Langdon wants to keep giving benzos we assume because he knows that what the patient got was actually saline. Putting that horror aside for one second, his suggestion that they repeatedly give benzos and even intubate a patient in status prior to giving an anti-seizure medication is just wildly incorrect management.

Robby lets Langdon get away with continuing this incorrect management but another attending might not have and then the patient what, would never have gotten benzos at all? That’s insane to think about.

Which brings me to how shocking this is on a rewatch. Langdon is taking an action that could have killed or caused serious permanent cognitive impairment to this patient. Who knows how many patients have been harmed. The ED treats a whole lot of alcohol withdrawal which is treated with benzos and is potentially lethal if not treated correctly.

It’s completely understandable that Santos feels like she’s being gaslit when he’s welcomed back warmly. The problem isn’t the substance use disorder. The problem is his utter disregard for taking an action that might have killed patients. Robby too gets a lot of pushback for not welcoming Langdon warmly, but again he knows that Langdon stole drugs and could have harmed patients. And Langdon’s many apologies seem never to wrestle with the real moral failing of his, forever hiding behind addiction to not take responsibility for having possibly done real harm to numerous patients.